2022 Spring Football: Final Practice Complete, Squads Ready for Saturday's Spring Game
SALT LAKE CITY – The 14th and final practice of spring camp concluded this afternoon at the Spence and Cleone Eccles Football Center with the annual Spring Game just a few days out on Saturday, April 23.
The game is slated to begin at 12 p.m. MT and will be televised on Pac-12 Networks. It will feature four 10-minute quarters with a running clock during the fourth and each team will get two timeouts with a five-minute halftime.
New coaching additions, Luther Elliss and Quinton Ganther will coach the Red and White teams, respectively.
With spring camp coming to a close, linebackers coach Colton Swan and offensive line coach Jim Harding met with the media to discuss what they've seen from their respective groups this spring.
Game information including marathon route: https://t.co/KRSGP1VGcC
— Utah Football (@Utah_Football) April 21, 2022
Linebackers coach Colton Swan
On what he knows now about his group that he didn't at the start of spring camp…
"I've got some young talented guys that's for sure. You know I assumed that coming into it and just put a little bit of action to it and that's exactly what I thought I had and it's true. I've got a lot of kids, the culture is good in the room, guys that are running around flying and even older kids like Andrew Mata'afa, Josh Calvert, guys like that are competing. Like I told them, as much experience that I had get up and leave the room, somebody needs to take those seats. Competition is high and I think each and every one of them, old to young, are competing for the job."
On the young linebackers in the room and what stands out about them…
"I would say just their knowledge of football. They're willing to compete and they're very savvy players. In 14 practices they are picking up on scheme and all the little nuances of technique and things of that nature and they are learning at a really fast rate. Are they there right now, no but I'm happy and I've been really pleased with their progress."
On what ha has seen from Andrew Mata'afa, Josh Calvert and their leadership…
"You know I don't want to leave out a guy like Karene Reid. He's a guy that comes to mind as well… Hayden Furey has played multiple reps, so a little bit of some older crew in there and they're doing a good job. They understand that the voice of the room has left in Devin and Nephi and somebody needs to speak up and Andrew has a very outspoken personality, he's a great young man and so he's taken more of the vocal role where Karen Reid is a little bit quieter but you get a work horse out of him. They are all competing like I said earlier and they are doing a great job."
On what he can envision from Mohamoud Diabate even though he hasn't been able to be on the field this spring…
"I've been very impressed thus far in what he's shown. He is obviously very limited in what he can do coming off that shoulder surgery, but everything is moving good… his strength is impeccable. He's a really strong kid and when you look at him you think no way because of how skinny he looks, but he is an extremely strong kid. Another thing I've been really impressed with is sometimes we'll let him run with us in some conditioning type of drills and he can run like a gazelle. So, I've been really impressed with how well he can cover the field. A couple skill sets that you need to be able to play linebacker are lightning fast feet, you need to be able to run and process information. That's what the two had last year, they could process information lighting fast… from what I've seen thus far from Mo, he's been doing a great job."
On how he goes about developing the young guys while also guiding the older guys to achieving their potential…
"It's a brotherhood, that's kind of how I do it. They foster one another, whether it's taking reps together as an older guy, it just helps them generate that hey this is what it sounds like, this is what it looks like, this is how we align. That's kind of what I do… an older brother mentality method to help them bring that mentality along and build that culture with it."
Question of the day: if you could live in any movie, what would you pick? ?? pic.twitter.com/UgQvNWk6mX
— Utah Football (@Utah_Football) April 21, 2022
Offensive line coach Jim Harding
On how spring has gone especially when trying to replace two guys on the line…
"I think there's been a lot of really good competition and the kids are getting better, but there are certainly some things that we need to do to get better. Things that hopefully we can improve on this week and throughout the summer."
On if there has been a drop off since losing Bamidele Olaseni and Nick Ford or if the guys are there to step in a do it…
"I think we have the potential to have guys there. Certainly, Bam and Nick brought a lot whether it was leadership and Bam did a really nice job once he went in at left tackle. We do have guys in the program that I think can replace them, but they are obviously a huge loss and something we are fighting through right now."
On Braeden Daniels becoming the leader of that group and how he stepped into that role…
"I think a lot of it has to do with his experience and how he's played at a high level. He was an all-conference player and that plays into it, but he's a guy that's doing the right things off the field as well. He's very attentive in the meetings, he's got a really high football IQ so a lot of guys seek him just to get answers outside of the meeting time."
On what kind of a jump Braeden Daniels has made since a year ago to now…
"He continues to refine his game, we switched him over to left tackle and it took him a practice or two to get comfortable there but he really has embraced that. He knows that it's a position we value a lot and we try to put one of our better players in that position. He's done a nice job, his football IQ which I mentioned a minute ago, has helped him transition a little but faster than we expected."
On what he's seen from Falcon and how he's stepped up this spring…
"Falcon is a guy who had never played O-line before he got here and only played D-end a little bit of tight end. He's gotten better every single year, but this spring he's gotten a lot more reps and it's developed into something where there's not the same mistake over and over. There is an experience level there that he's seen something, he's reacting faster… so it's never been a physical issue, it's just been an experience deficit I guess and now this spring he's really done a nice job putting a lot of things together."
On how important it is to get consistency from the O-line right now…
"You know the guys we have currently, we have played in the same position and the same lineup the majority of this spring. We will have the additional two guys that has missed spring, Jaren and Paul, that are going to be thrown into that equation and the goal is to get those guys in place right away. I recognized we did not play very well early on in the year upfront and a lot of that had to do with shuffling guys around. It's going to be important to get those guys in place right away. We obviously recognize the first game we have this year so the sooner we can get those five guys playing together, getting used to each other, will only make us better in the long run."